The Irish standard., 1887-02-12
AMONG THE vlENNEsE.

AMONG THE VlENNESE.
The characteristics and Moderation of the
Staid Old Vienna Burghers.
The Austrian character is not slug.
gish, but it is slow. There is an active
intellect, but it would seem of in.
sufficient horsepower to move body
slightly inclined to torpidity at an
appreciable rate Of speed. It may be
remarked here that the only persons
who in Austria frankly confess that
they are Austrians belong to the
100000 or so Germans, who form
about one-fourth of the entire popuIa-
ton of the empire. No Bohemian evel
says he is an Austrian. No more does
a Hungarian, while the Croats,
Moravians styrians, Italians and the
other fractions of race that make ur
the hybrid and polyglot Austrian ma
tionality are usually equally specific.
Their local terms OF distinction are pre-.
ferred to those which are imperial. The
language of commerce and society is
necessarily the German. You hear it
generally used in Vienna, Prague, Buda,
Pesth, Grain fact, in every
corner Of the country, and even
in Trieste, thou gh here the predom.
nance of the italian element makes its
progress difficult. 1t is the language
of the Austrian Parliament, and of all
the employees Of the railroad-in fact,
the German tongue is as aggressive as
German commerce. The Bohemi ans,
the Hungarians, the Croats try to stay
the lingual tide. but they can no more
dam the torrent than they can inter.
pose barrier to the avalanche of Ger
man. traders that is sweeping down
upon them. Europe regards the Ger
man invasion much as the Americans
regard Chinese immigration. They
come in everywhere. They take pos.
session of every thing. They are able
to undersell because their goods are Of
poor material and cheaply made. To
say that an article Of ordinary mer.
chandise is German suggests to the
commercial world two ideas-cheap.
ness that defies competition and poor:
ness Of quality. Another idea might
possibly be added-energy, enterprise
and intelligence in offering for sale.
These are the three great elements OF
a certain kind Of commercial success.
But the Germans who are thus over
running the world with al energy that
is American, and check that is more
than American, are not the branch Of
the race that call themselves Austrians.
They are the North Germans and came
from somewhere along the North sea,
Saxony, or Frankfort. No such am
bition stirs the slumbering soul of the
Viennese or of the Inhabitants of the
other commercial cities of the country.
He does not want to emigrate. He is
too we'll satisfied with what he has.
The lust of wealth has not entered his
soul to any alarming extent. He would
be glad to be rich, but he is not going
to f1ne, fret, sweat throuh laborious
days and pass sleepless nights in seek
ing to become so. The Vienncse
burgher is of the South German type.
His counterpart is found in Bavaria,
but the Bavarian is less phlegnatic.
The Bavarian is more easily excited TO
anger and he has even less commercial
talent. The solid citizen of Vienna is
usually short, stout, black-haired in.
dividual, with solidity of flesh that
might have come from En- nglish beef. But
it does not. 1t is the result of persist
ent devotion to the beers of Pilsen,
Budweiser and the metropolis of the
Danube, to whose credit it may be said
that they are the best in the world.
Here and there may be seen a blonde
type that has come in in the twilight
Of Austrian history from some wind
swept Tartar steppe or some chilly sea.
shore OF the far North. It offers a
pleasing exception OF brown hair and
blue eyes without altering the rule.
The dark types predominant. The
Viennese moves with the constant
slowness of solid bodies. Haste is to
him unknown. He could not be in-
duced to run to fire even if it was
the conhagration of his own dwelling.
He meets his friends with q sunny
smile and his enemies with bland for
bearance. If the homely and good.
natured can be applied with propriety
it is to the Viennese burgher, whose
equaninity in the presence of irritat-
ing circumstances is unvarying and
whose unpretentious politeness to
strangers is constant and remarkable.
He is never in such a hurry that he
can not impart needed information to
those uncertain what course to take in
the devious ways of his handsome
capital.-Cor. S0n Francisco Chronicle.
Didn't Like Their Jokes.